NFL Overrated/Underrated 2013

Robert Griffin III (Redskins)

The Preconceived Notions: Incredible player; strong arm, great legs; superstar in making; was benefitted by a gimmick offense and strong running game his rookie year. Positives: RG3 has a cannon for an arm. Everything he throws has great zip. Nothing flutters, not even a dump-off pass. Still, he showed impressive touch on deep balls his rookie season. RG3's speed and strength may make him the most well-rounded running quarterback I've ever seen to date, comparable to the greatest running QB of all-time, Steve Young. Everything Griffin does is solid. Even his ball fakes are top notch. Negatives: There's not much to pick apart in RG3's game. If anything, he's the victim of a gimmick offense that was built so much around his mobility. It was designed to have him on the move often, which also put his body at risk. He may have trouble remaining healthy if asked to play that way long-term. (AP Photo)

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Overrated, Under...By Jordan Raanan, XFINITY Sports There is perception and there is reality. That's why I'm here with this new Overrated/Underrated series. I'm going to distinguish between the two when it comes to some of the NFL's biggest names. It's important to keep this all in perspective. These are all good players. I'm just basing my final judgment off the perception I initially had for the player being evaluated. Here's how it is going to work. Each week until the season begins I'm going to pick five players at the same position. You can provide input on who you want reviewed here and/or here. First I'm going to write my perception of that player. Then I'm going to watch extensive game film on them from the 2012 season and make a judgment on whether they are overrated, underrated or just as I expected based on my preconceived notions. I begin this week with five young quarterbacks, many of them rising stars in the NFL. I spent hours watching coaches tape on all five. Here's my impressions. (AP Photo) Jordan Raanan has covered the NFL since 2005. Follow him on Twitter @JordanRaanan, on Facebook or email him at jraanan@hotmail.com.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Robert Griffin I...The Preconceived Notions: Incredible player; strong arm, great legs; superstar in making; was benefitted by a gimmick offense and strong running game his rookie year. Positives: RG3 has a cannon for an arm. Everything he throws has great zip. Nothing flutters, not even a dump-off pass. Still, he showed impressive touch on deep balls his rookie season. RG3's speed and strength may make him the most well-rounded running quarterback I've ever seen to date, comparable to the greatest running QB of all-time, Steve Young. Everything Griffin does is solid. Even his ball fakes are top notch. Negatives: There's not much to pick apart in RG3's game. If anything, he's the victim of a gimmick offense that was built so much around his mobility. It was designed to have him on the move often, which also put his body at risk. He may have trouble remaining healthy if asked to play that way long-term. (AP Photo)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Robert Griffin I...Prognosis: Underrated I could have gone either way here. I think RG3 is going to be overrated going into this season because just eight months removed from major knee surgery there is no way the Redskins can have him running around as much as last season. Placed in a more traditional drop back offense, he can still be successful. It's just unlikely he can be as successful. But I went with underrated because RG3 was an even better runner, passer and student of the game than I anticipated before watching tape of his rookie season. Only injury will keep him from being a great player. (AP Photo)

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Colin Kaepernick...The Preconceived Notions: Great second season; budding superstar; the best of the first-year starting quarterbacks not named Andrew Luck; incredible size, speed, arm; can do it all; accuracy can be a concern. Positives: His physical skills really pop on tape. His arm is top shelf. He's probably faster than the running back (Frank Gore) he shares the backfield with in San Francisco. And maybe most impressive is the way Kaepernick throws the deep ball. He was 15-of-19 passing for 437 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions on balls thrown 21-30 yards. That is off-the-charts good. Kaepernick fires bullets 25 yards downfield like they're dump passes. He also showed incredible poise and confidence late in games. How important this is can't be discounted. He helped the 49ers pull out several tight games and they almost rallied behind him in the biggest game of them all, the Super Bowl. He definitely has a bright future. Negatives: My biggest concern with Kaepernick moving forward is that he didn't show great anticipation. He needed to see his receiver open before he threw the ball. In order to become an upper-echelon quarterback it's imperative that he gets the ball out on time, which often means making the throw before the receiver makes his move. Kaepernick didn't throw often into tight windows. Part of the reason was he didn't have to because of the scheme and talent around him. On the other hand, he often held onto the ball longer than necessary when his initial target wasn't open. His throwing deficiencies were evident in the red zone, where he completed just 48 percent of his passes. (AP Photo)

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Colin Kaepernick...Prognosis: Overrated I came into this thinking that Kaepernick was further along than RGIII and Russell Wilson. I left thinking differently. He's certainly talented and has a bright future, but he has a long way to go before he's a refined quarterback. In the meantime, he'll be just fine leaning on his legs and rocket arm. (AP Photo)

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Andrew Luck (Col...The Preconceived Notions: The best of the young QB crop; awesome do-it-all talent; great thrower; pin-point accuracy; smart; good athlete; mediocre arm. Positives: Luck can make all the throws. He makes almost all the right reads and decisions. He's incredibly accurate from the pocket and on the run. He has the best anticipation of any of the young quarterbacks I analyzed. By a wide margin too. He's not afraid to throw into tight windows. Negatives: The only knock I came away with was that Luck sometimes tries to force the ball into coverage in the middle of the field. It led to a few too many interceptions this past season. (AP Photo)

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Andrew Luck (Col...Prognosis: As Expected Luck is as good as I thought. He's already a Top 10 quarterback and will be in the Top 5 within two or three years. There's absolutely nothing he can't do. He even runs better than I expected. Luck is the best rookie quarterback I've seen in my lifetime, especially considering the talent he was working with last season. (AP Photo)

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Ryan Tannehill (...The Preconceived Notions: Decent rookie year, showed signs; big arm; immobile; lacked accuracy; mistake-prone; destined to be average quarterback. Positives: The most impressive part of Tannehill's rookie season was the poise that he displayed. No matter the situation — whether it was his offensive line or receivers letting him down — Tannehill kept his poise. He never developed jittery feet. He never resorted to endless dump downs. His pre-snap recognition was solid. His decision-making was good. He was a much better athlete than I expected. Tannehill even had better wheels than I thought and ran some read-option. There was a lot to like from the rookie. Negatives: Tannehill's accuracy seemed to come and go. His missed a few too many deep balls for my liking, often overthrowing his targets. He was also consistently late with throws and a second slow recognizing the open receiver. (AP Photo)

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Ryan Tannehill (...Prognosis: Before watching tape of his rookie season, I saw Tannehill as a quarterback destined to be average. I knew his supporting cast last year was bad, but I didn't realize it was that bad. The receivers rarely got open. When they did, they dropped a lot of passes. It was not an ideal situation for a rookie quarterback thrown into the fire. I saw enough from Tannehill to be pleasantly surprised, to be optimistic for the future. After watching tape, I think there is a chance for him to eventually be a Top 10 guy if he gets rid of the ball quicker. He made a lot of good, quality throws and showed all the skills to make me think he will develop into a very good player. (AP Photo)

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Russell Wilson (...The Preconceived Notions: Great legs and arms; reminds me of Doug Flutie because of his height and arm; winner; played with good supporting cast; made to look better by strong running game. Positives: Wilson always seemed like he was in total command. He never got flustered during a sensational rookie season. His arm was even better than advertised. His legs too. Wilson was excellent using play-action and making big plays down the middle of the field. He improved drastically as the season progressed. Negatives: The diminutive quarterback often held the ball too long. He's also wasn't great at making throws to the outside from the pocket. (AP Photo)

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Russell Wilson (...Prognosis: Underrated I knew Wilson was good. In fact, two years ago I was adamant in my thinking that he was the best player in college football. Better than Andrew Luck and RG3 as a college quarterback, but not a better pro prospect. I just didn't think Wilson would be this good at the NFL level. Not at his height (5-foot-11). But Wilson proved he was the 1-in-100 that can succeed as a height-challenged quarterback. His big arm is part of the reason. So is his smarts. Wilson showed incredible football acumen his rookie season, allowing him to be better than I ever thought possible in the NFL. (AP Photo)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.